Story Time: The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot

The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot is a retelling of the classic children’s tale The Three Little Pigs, re-imagined in outer space. Three little aliens are sent by their mother to find a planet of their own to live on. Subsequently, each little alien settles on a different planet, with the third little alien considering all aspects of what will be needed to build a home that is safe from the big, bad robot, who eventually cracks, smacks, and whacks, but can’t knock the house down. Children will love discovering the similarities and differences between this re-imagined version of the story and the original. The illustrations provide plenty of material for making comparisons and contrasting the personalities of the three little aliens who have one, two, and three eyes respectively. The third little alien’s name is constructed entirely of consonants, which makes it hard to sound out, underscoring the importance of vowels in the English language. Here, we share a few ideas for discussion and reflection before reading, during reading, and after reading.

The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot Story Time

Literature: Key Ideas and DetailsRL.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text

Literature: Range of Reading and Level of Text ComplexityRL.K.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding

Before Reading:

Read the title of the book. Ask:

Does this title remind you of any other stories you’ve heard? (The Three Little Pigs)

What do you think this story will be about? (Take several predictions.)

To build background knowledge before reading the story, review the illustrations of the planets on the inside front and back endpapers. Name each planet in order and ask children to share what they know about each one. Ask if children notice any differences between the illustration on the front endpaper and the one on the back endpaper (the front shows one house on Mercury and the back shows a second house on Neptune). Read the Author’s Note on the last page to set the scene.

Write the names of the little aliens on chart paper. Point out that two of the names rhyme (Bork and Gork), but the other is made up only of consonant letters, so it is difficult to pronounce (Nklxwcyz). Let children take turns trying to say the third name. Decide together how it will be read.

During Reading:

As you read, have children respond to questions about the illustrations and define difficult vocabulary. Here are a few questions to ask:

What do you notice about each little alien? (One is on a laptop, one has a ball, and one is reading a book; One has one eye, one has two eyes, and one has three eyes, etc.)

Who can remind us of the names of the planets? (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune)

Which planet has Bork chosen to live on? What will she live in? (Mars, a rover)

How does Nklxwycz feel about Bork’s choice? (He thinks they should stick together)

Which planet has Gork chosen to live on? What will he live in? (Saturn, a satellite)

How does Nklxwycz feel about Gork’s choice? (He thinks living on a one of Saturn’s rings will make Gork dizzy)

What do you think of the Big, Bad, Robot? (Take a few responses)

What are some of the materials Nklxwycz uses to build his house? (sturdy rocks, stardust, solar panels, a telescope)

How is Nklxwycz’s house different from the homes of his sister and brother? (It is not as fast or as fun, but it is safe)

Child-Friendly Definitions:

crater: a large bowl-shaped hole in the ground caused by an explosion or crash

eon: a really long time equal to a billion years

meteor: a piece of space rock or metal that burns up when it enters the Earth’s atmosphere

satellite: a machine that is sent into space to go around a planet and collect information

galaxy: a very large groups of stars

solar panel: a flat piece of material that collects heat from the sun to make electricity

comet: a space object made up of dust and ice that develops a bright, glowing tail when it moves close to the sun

black hole: an area in space with super strong gravity that makes it impossible for anything inside to escape

telescope: a tube that can be looked through to see objects that are far-away

asteroid: a small, rocky space object that moves around the sun

After Reading:

Three Little Aliens Felt Story Rhyme

Three Little Aliens
Adapted by Jolanda Garcia, KidsSoup, Inc.Tune: Three little ducks went out to play

Three little aliens went out into the universe one day,
Up into space and far away
Mother Alien said,
"juack, juack, juack,"
But only 2 little aliens came back.

Two little aliens went out into the universe one day,
Up into space and far away
Mother Alien said,
"juack, juack, juack," But only 1 little alien came back.

One little alien went out into the universe one day,
Up into space and far away
Mother Alien said,
"juack, juack, juack," But no alien came back.

So mother alien went out into the universe that day,
Up into space and far away
Mother Alien said,
"juack, juack, juack " And all three aliens came back.

Comparing the story to the Three Little Pigs story:

Let children share their favorite parts of the story and why. Take a simple vote to see which story children like best: the little alien version or the little pig original. First, have children who like the alien version best give a thumbs-up. Then, have children who like the original best give a thumbs-up. Count the votes and graph them later.

Venn Diagram Activity: Comparing and Contrasting Two Stories

Draw a Venn Diagram on the board or on chart paper. Write “The Three Little Pigs” over one circle and “The Three Little Aliens” over the other circle. Write “Both” over the space where the circles overlap. Explain how the Venn Diagram works and call on children to name similarities and differences between the two stories. Write their responses in the corresponding spaces of the diagram.